During my 6 week stay in Orgeon Winter and I took two day trips out to Cannon Beach. It was a gorgeous hour drive from where I was staying. The beach is one of Winters’ favorite places, and this one did not disappoint. Cannon Beach is an adorable seaside town that is known for the main attraction at Ecola State Park, Haystack Rock.
Cannon Beach – Take 1
The first trip we made to the beach was an early one. I cannot recommend an early start enough. The weekend traffic to the coast is brutal. Getting there early guarantees you will find parking easily in the free public parking. Plus you won’t get stuck in a long line of traffic on State Highway 26, a two lane road and the most direct route from Portland to the coast.
We arrived around 8 AM to see Haystack Rock at low tide. The day we went was actually a negative tide, which made for a very different experience. We walked about 3 miles along the beach, exploring the tide pools around Haystack Rock and other areas along the beach. I got to channel my inner marine biologist and identified a few critters living on the rocks here. Some of the creatures gave Winter a bit of a fright. For those of you who do not know, my undergraduate degree is in Marine Biology.
Food in Cannon Beach
We stopped for lunch at Pelican Brewing, another place I highly recommend if you ever come to this part of Oregon. The food was great, as were the beers. Finally, the last stop in Cannon Beach was at Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters, a cute coffee shop and roastery. My coffee was AMAZING. I even picked up a pound of beans to take back to Texas for my Dad.
Take 2
On our second trip to Cannon Beach we were trying to catch a gorgeous beach sunset. Unfortunately, the wildfires that ravaged the entire PNW spoiled that plan. The sunset was nowhere to be seen, but we made the best of the trip. Winter and I still got to enjoy the beach, even though it did smell like a campfire. We put our toes in the Pacific Ocean one last time before leaving Oregon. Winter got to enjoy a sandy game of fetch. She HATED the bath that followed at the hotel that night.
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So glad to see you finally post this… Great times.